A generic design environment for the rural industry knowledge acquisition

This paper describes a new knowledge acquisition method using a generic design environment where context-sensitive knowledge is used to build specific DSS for rural business. Although standard knowledge acquisition methods have been applied in rural business applications, uptake remains low and familiar weaknesses such as obsolescence and brittleness apply. We describe a decision support system (DSS) building environment where contextual factors relevant to the end users are directly taken into consideration. This "end user enabled design environment" (EUEDE) engages both domain experts in creating an expert knowledge base and business operators/end users (such as farmers) in using this knowledge for building their specific DSS. We document the knowledge organisation for the problem domain, namely a dairy industry application. This development involved a case-study research approach used to explore dairy operational knowledge. In this system end users can tailor their decision-making requirements using their own judgement to build specific DSSs. In a specific end user's farming context, each specific DSS provides expert suggestions to assist farmers in improving their farming practice. The paper also shows the environment's generic capability.

Re-thinking teacher quality in high-poverty schools in Australia

As is the case globally, Australian schools that serve high-poverty communities most often employ the least experienced, least prepared teachers. Beginning with a discussion of poverty in Australia this chapter draws on 6 years of learnings from Australia's National Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools (NETDS) program to examine how social justice can be taught within a mainstream Initial Teacher Education program in an increasingly neoliberal climate where teacher education curriculum around social justice struggles to find a place within the current discourses of quality teaching and its preoccupations with standards, accountability, and high-stakes testing.

Pellon pientareelta akateemisiin sfääreihin : Opettajuuden rakentuminen ja muuttuminen sotienjälkeisessä Suomessa opettajien omaelämäkertojen valossa

From the field to the academic sphere how teachers professional identities and roles have changed in post-war Finland This study explores teacher autobiographies. The span of the writings extends mainly from the Second World War to the new millennium. The autobiographers are mostly elementary and secondary school teachers in Finland, although there are a few who have worked in vocational schools, polytechnic institutes or one of the various adult education centres. The researcher is aware of the diversity among those educational institutions and their teachers, but wanted to concentrate on similarities rather than differences. The autobiographers have been explored with four different research questions in view. The first was to identify professional and personal elements and themes mentioned by teachers in writing about themselves. The second was to identify the factors that have affected those elements and themes. The third was to examine the kinds of literary forms teachers used in their autobiographies. The fourth was the most crucial and an endeavour to connect the previous questions: how teachers professional identities and roles have changed during the period studied. In the first five chapters the teachers voices come through clearly. Two of these chapters are organized in chronological order. The first is about childhood, youth and the time spent in school, the second deals with the years studying in university or teachers college and finally being recruited to the teachers. In these chapters the rural background of many teachers stands out, an issue that also emerged symbolically or de facto in the autobiographies. The chronological scheme changes to a thematic order, in which social matters (students, parents, colleagues) and teachers working circumstances are dealt with. Four selected autobiographies are examined closely. In these autobiographies five different types of teacher narratives can be identified. To begin with, teachers stressed their vocation, which is quite a normal work orientation for those working in the educational field. Others emphasised how they were looking for professional development; a few wrote about personal advancement as well. There are also narratives by teachers who simply drifted into the profession of teaching, while a few teachers felt unwelcome in their own schools. As for the changes that teachers have witnessed, there are also some themes that are widely shared. Most pointed out how the teacher has become more foster parent than educator, as real parents have withdrawn from their responsibilities of raising children. This theme was frequently broached, although attitude towards it and ways of handling the phenomenon differed substantially. Teachers also stressed how their profession has lost the aura and prestige it once had. At the same time teachers are being expected to collaborate more with their colleagues, which is not in line with the centuries-old tradition of working alone. Teachers seem to be in a state of flux, buffeted by elements of stability and change interacting simultaneously. Many teachers are demanding a re-examination of their working reality. Teachers long and intimate relationship with society and the state may be at a crossroads. Key words: teachers professional identity and role, autobiographical study, post-war Finland

Guaiac versus immunochemical tests: Faecal occult blood test screening for colorectal cancer in a rural community

Objective: To describe patient participation and clinical performance in a colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program utilising faecal occult blood test (FOBT). Methods: A community-based intervention was conducted in a small, rural community in north Queensland, 2000/01. One of two FOBT kits – guaiac (Hemoccult-ll) or immunochemical (Inform) – was assigned by general practice and mailed to participants (3,358 patients aged 50–74 years listed with the local practices). Results: Overall participation in FOBT screening was 36.3%. Participation was higher with the immunochemical kit than the guaiac kit (OR=1.9, 95% Cl 1.6-2.2). Women were more likely to comply with testing than men (OR=1.4, 95% Cl 1.2-1.7), and people in their 60s were less likely to participate than those 70–74 years (OR=0.8, 95% Cl 0.6-0.9). The positivity rate was higher for the immunochemical (9.5%) than the guaiac (3.9%) test (χ2=9.2, p=0.002), with positive predictive values for cancer or adenoma of advanced pathology of 37.8% (95% Cl 28.1–48.6) for !nform and 40.0% (95% Cl 16.8–68.7) for Hemoccult-ll. Colonoscopy follow-up was 94.8% with a medical complication rate of 2–3%. Conclusions: An immunochemical FOBT enhanced participation. Higher positivity rates for this kit did not translate into higher false-positive rates, and both test types resulted in a high yield of neoplasia. Implications: In addition to type of FOBT, the ultimate success of a population-based screening program for CRC using FOBT will depend on appropriate education of health professionals and the public as well as significant investment in medical infrastructure for colonoscopy follow-up.

Kasvilajien tunnistaminen, oppiminen ja opettaminen yleissivistävän koulutuksen näkökulmasta

The purpose of the research was to determine how well Finnish pupils and students of different ages recognize plant species, which variables explain recognition of plant species, what plants and nature mean to the subjects and how plant species identification should be taught in general education in Finland. The subjects were pupils from: every class level of the primary schools (grades 1 6); lower- secondary school (grades 7 9); high school (grades I II); university departments of teacher education and classroom teachers and teachers from university involved with environmental teaching and also experts from education and botany. A total of 883 people took part in the research. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The quantitative methods were: a) plant species recognition test, where 70 plant species photos were shown to subjects and b) an experiment in which three experimental groups had a plant recognition test on the nature trail and the three comparison groups were tested on recognition of the same species in classroom. The testing materials consisted of 31 real plants outdoors and 31 photos taken of these real plant species that were shown to pupils from fourth, fifth and sixth classes (grade levels) from primary school. The qualitative methods were a questionnaire administered to pupils from elementary school and high school and students from the department of teacher education, to teachers from university and interviews, where 3 5 pupils and students who recognized the plant species best or worst in the recognition test were selected to be interviewed. Furthermore, classroom teachers from primary school and experts were interviewed. The research results showed that on average plant species were recognized insufficiently on every level of education. There was also variation between answers from primary school to university teachers. However, species recognition skills improved from primary school to university teachers. Among other things, sex and place of residence explained species recognition skills, because girls and pupils from rural areas knew plant species statistically significantly better than boys or pupil from cities. Almost every pupil, student and all classroom teachers wanted to recognize plant species better. Many pupils mentioned that a motivating teaching method would be to go outdoors and investigate the plant species themselves. University teachers and experts also mentioned that the best and most efficient learning and teaching method for species recognition skills, is to practice in nature. We should teach plant species in nature, using many senses and teaching methods. Also new technology could be used in teaching species recognition skills. Keywords: plant species recognition, plant species education, general education

Teacher Education, School Effectiveness and Improvement : A Study of Academic and Professional Qualification on Teachers' Job Effectiveness in Nigerian Secondary Schools

This academic work begins with a compact presentation of the general background to the study, which also includes an autobiography for the interest in this research. The presentation provides readers who know little of the topic of this research and of the structure of the educational system as well as of the value given to education in Nigeria. It further concentrates on the dynamic interplay of the effect of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness in secondary schools in Nigeria in particular, and in Africa in general. The aim of this study is to produce a systematic analysis and rich theoretical and empirical description of teachers' teaching competencies. The theoretical part comprises a comprehensive literature review that focuses on research conducted in the areas of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness, teaching competencies, and the role of teacher education with particular emphasis on school effectiveness and improvement. This research benefits greatly from the functionalist conception of education, which is built upon two emphases: the application of the scientific method to the objective social world, and the use of an analogy between the individual 'organism' and 'society'. To this end, it offers us an opportunity to define terms systematically and to view problems as always being interrelated with other components of society. The empirical part involves describing and interpreting what educational objectives can be achieved with the help of teachers' teaching competencies in close connection to educational planning, teacher training and development, and achieving them without waste. The data used in this study were collected between 2002 and 2003 from teachers, principals, supervisors of education from the Ministry of Education and Post Primary Schools Board in the Rivers State of Nigeria (N=300). The data were collected from interviews, documents, observation, and questionnaires and were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods to strengthen the validity of the findings. The data collected were analyzed to answer the specific research questions and hypotheses posited in this study. The data analysis involved the use of multiple statistical procedures: Percentages Mean Point Value, T-test of Significance, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Cross Tabulation. The results obtained from the data analysis show that teachers require professional knowledge and professional teaching skills, as well as a broad base of general knowledge (e.g., morality, service, cultural capital, institutional survey). Above all, in order to carry out instructional processes effectively, teachers should be both academically and professionally trained. This study revealed that teachers are not however expected to have an extraordinary memory, but rather looked upon as persons capable of thinking in the right direction. This study may provide a solution to the problem of teacher education and school effectiveness in Nigeria. For this reason, I offer this treatise to anyone seriously committed in improving schools in developing countries in general and in Nigeria in particular to improve the lives of all its citizens. In particular, I write this to encourage educational planners, education policy makers, curriculum developers, principals, teachers, and students of education interested in empirical information and methods to conceptualize the issue this study has raised and to provide them with useful suggestions to help them improve secondary schooling in Nigeria. Though, multiple audiences exist for any text. For this reason, I trust that the academic community will find this piece of work a useful addition to the existing literature on school effectiveness and school improvement. Through integrating concepts from a number of disciplines, I aim to describe as holistic a representation as space could allow of the components of school effectiveness and quality improvement. A new perspective on teachers' professional competencies, which not only take into consideration the unique characteristics of the variables used in this study, but also recommend their environmental and cultural derivation. In addition, researchers should focus their attention on the ways in which both professional and non-professional teachers construct and apply their methodological competencies, such as their grouping procedures and behaviors to the schooling of students. Keywords: Professional Training, Academic Training, Professionally Qualified, Academically Qualified, Professional Qualification, Academic Qualification, Job Effectiveness, Job Efficiency, Educational Planning, Teacher Training and Development, Nigeria.

Do UNESCO Schools in Finland Prepare Their Students for the Future? : A Study of Their School-based Curriculums

The purpose of the research was to study how Finnish lower-stage schools participating in the international network of UNESCO schools, also called the Associated Schools Project (ASP), prepare their students for the future at the level of their school-based curriculums. In the research, the future trends were discussed, and the importance of their consideration in educational practice was explained from a global viewpoint: Based on the examination of today's problematic world state, and development trends characterized by globalization, the challenges and demands set for schooling and education in the future were discussed. Understanding the significance of an individual's action and responsibility was considered to be the central resource for building a more just and sustainable future. The study was grounded on a theoretical model developed by the researcher, which combined the models of Dalin & Rust (1996) and UNESCO (Delors et al. 1996) about future-oriented learning. The model consists of four basic elements of curriculum; "Nature", "Culture", "Myself", and "Others", and four dimension of learning; "Learning to know", "Learning to do", "Learning to live together" and "Learning to be". The model represents the holistic aspect of educational theory, and its aim is to maintain a balance between its different components. The research material composed of ten lower-stage UNESCO schools' school-based curriculums. They were analyzed using the theoretical model by the methology of content analysis. The research results were notably consistent between the different schools. They showed cultural learning and learning concerned with "myself" to be clearly more emphasized than learning referring to nature and other people. In addition, they reflected the central position of subjects, knowledge and skills, thus leaving the development of the pupils' personalities, and particularly learning concerned with living with other people, in a marginal role. The question about whether the schools prepare for the future interms of their curriculums, was discussed in the light of the results. The research offered a way and a model to approach the relationship between education and the future, and to evaluate schools' future-orientation. Based on the results, the schools are suggested to lay more stress on learning concerned with nature and other people, and focus more on developing the mental capasities of their pupils and competencies they need for living with other people. Above all, what the present societies require of schools is education which produces balanced and broadly aware human beings who have the mental strength to face the challenges of the future and abilities to direct it along the lines they desire. Keywords: future, curriculum, content analysis

Lähiympäristö nepalilaisessa arjessa - oppilaiden ja opettajien käsityksiä omista vaikutusmahdollisuuksistaan

Aims. Sustainable development has become the most important theme in the development co-operation in the 21st century. Sustainable development is pursued by environmental education among other things. This research rose from the discussion about the meaning of environmental education in developing countries and especially the effect it might have in the environment and society. Nepal and one of its rural private schools was selected as a research object. The themes and questions of the research are: 1. Conceptions of the immediate environment of students and teachers: What does immediate environment mean according to the students and teachers? 2. Students most important acts in the environment: What kind of effect do the students think they can have on the environment in their everyday life? 3. Teachers opinions, experiences and methods in environmental education: What do teachers think should be taught to the students in environmental education? What are the teachers actually teaching? What kind of methods are the teachers using while teaching environmental education? Researching the conceptions of immediate environment and acts in the environment gives information about the students and teachers relation with the nature in their everyday life and the baseline from which environmental education will be implemented from. Teachers opinions, experiences and methods in environmental education provide information on the current implementation of the environmental education. Methods. Ethnography was selected as a research method. Before collecting the actual data, a pre-study was conducted. The aim of the pre-study was to specify the research themes and practice the cross-cultural interview as a research method. The actual data was collected in the last week of January 2010 in Dhangadhi, Nepal. The data included twenty-two drawings and captions from the students and one group interview with the teachers. The data was analyzed with brief quantitative analysis and full analysis was done with a qualitative method called content analysis. Results and conclusions. Teachers and student s conceptions of immediate environment differ from each other. Students saw the immediate environment from the scientific approach while the teachers thought it was more social conception. The interface was found in their own personal environment. This interface is a good baseline for environmental education. The most important acts in the environment for the students were protection towards the environment. The students saw their possibilities to have an influence in the environment through the school. A connection between the school and acting in the environment was evident. In the teachers opinions and experiences of environmental education, environmental problems and the importance of teaching attitudes and values were found. No logic thematic entities were discovered but the teachers did use different kinds of methods in their teaching. Achieving the international aims for environmental education was very challenging in the research school because of the teachers lack of information and skills to teach the subject. The context where the school works was also challenging.

Factors influencing the outdoor concentration of carbonaceous aerosols at urban schools in Brisbane, Australia: implications for children’s exposure

This comprehensive study aimed to determine the sources and driving factors of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations in ambient PM2.5 in urban schools. Sampling was conducted outdoors at 25 schools in the Brisbane Metropolitan Area, Australia. Concentrations of primary and secondary OC were quantified using the EC tracer method, with secondary OC accounting for an average of 60%. Principal component analysis distinguished the contributing sources above the background and identified groups of schools with differing levels of primary and secondary carbonaceous aerosols. Overall, the results showed that vehicle emissions, local weather conditions and secondary organic aerosols (SOA) were the key factors influencing concentrations of carbonaceous component of PM2.5 at these schools. These results provide insights into children’s exposure to vehicle emissions and SOA at such urban schools.

Retinal photography screening programs to prevent vision loss from diabetic retinopathy in rural and urban Australia: A review

Purpose This review assessed the effectiveness of diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening programs, using retinal photography in Australian urban and rural settings, and considered implications for public health strategy and policy. Methods An electronic search of MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase for studies published between 1 January 1996 and the 30 June 2013 was undertaken. Key search terms were “diabetic retinopathy,” “screening,” “retinal photography” and “Australia.” Results Twelve peer-reviewed publications were identified. The 14 DR screening programs identified from the 12 publications were successfully undertaken in urban, rural and remote communities across Australia. Locations included a pathology collection center, and Indigenous primary health care and Aboriginal community controlled organizations. Each intervention using retinal photography was highly effective at increasing the number of people who underwent screening for DR. The review identified that prior to commencement of the screening programs a median of 48% (range 16–85%) of those screened had not undergone a retinal examination within the recommended time frame (every year for Indigenous people and every 2 years for non-Indigenous people in Australia). A median of 16% (range 0–45%) of study participants had evidence of DR. Conclusions This review has shown there have been many pilot and demonstration projects in rural and urban Australia that confirm the effectiveness of retinal photography-based screening for DR

Elizabeth Gottschalk with unidentified classmates on a field trip from Sophienschule; Hannover, Germany. Institutions; Educational; Schools; Portraits; Groups

Elizabeth Gottschalk is probably the student far left on the horse wagon